The programme aims to keep the most vulnerable children within their families to avoid institutionalisation and increase family care. Launched in 2001, it is closely related to the Government’s de-institutionalisation programme and is meant to lay the proper foundation for it by preventing children from being admitted to institutions. The programme offers structured, time-limited interventions to targeted families, delivered in partnership with local authorities to ensure sustainability. The overarching aim is to develop a ‘Public Policy for the Prevention of Child Separation from Families’ that all state authorities dealing with childcare and social services would be required to observe.